


Humanity

by The_Winter_Straw



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adult Situations, F/M, Fluff, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, Sexual Situations, mild sexual references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 12:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18965074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Winter_Straw/pseuds/The_Winter_Straw
Summary: Sometimes you have to give it to yourself.





	Humanity

**Author's Note:**

> Another one shot, but this one's not a challenge response. Exciting!
> 
> This is actually the first Avengers thing I ever wrote. *eyes go dreamy* It was the summer of 2012. I had just seen the Avengers for the first time and I was so in love. I'd just graduated from college and had a masters degree program lined up in the fall, and to tide me over until then I'd got a job house sitting. I spent two days jumping on the kids' trampoline thinking up ideas and writing this. 
> 
> I might have over-rated it. I'm not sure. I always skew a little higher than necessary, I think. But let me know if you need me to change anything.

On your list of things you’d never expected to do were many, many things. Ending up working for a superhero, for instance. Seeing as how this had come true, it shouldn’t have come as such a shock that another on your list did. Namely, riding up one of Stark Tower’s elevators, with your boss, wearing what you could only describe as bright red lingerie. 

“Mr. Stark, I’m not sure about this.” 

They were the first words you had spoken since he had arrived at your room an hour earlier with the clothing in tow. Complete silence, all through Tony’s explanation of why this was necessary, his whistle of appreciation when you stepped out of the bathroom in said lingerie, and his resulting herding of you into the elevator. 

Needless to say, he didn’t seem surprised that it had taken you this long to react. “Not so sure about what, exactly?” was all he had to say in response. 

"Well,” you said weakly, as you fingered the top of one of your stockings, “this doesn’t really seem like something I would have to do for my job.” 

Tony stared at you, mouth pressed upward into a cynical smile. “Did I offer to pay you, [Name]?” 

“No,” you mumbled. Though you had no idea why he would ask you to do this otherwise. 

“Exactly. After all, I would think one night of wanton passion with the man of your dreams would be enough of a payoff for you.” These words caused you to turn almost as red as your ‘dress.’ Catching this, Tony rolled his eyes. “Come on. You two have been dating for what, a year? Year and a half? And still nothing?” 

“He isn’t exactly…” You trailed off, cheeks still burning, your eyes focused on the glass floor. Good thing it was nearly 11 PM and all the regular employees weren’t there to ogle your lower body parts. 

“Trust me,” Tony said as he checked the time on his cell phone. “You need this. You _both_ need this.” 

“I really, _really_ think you’re wrong, Mr. Stark.” A sharp glance in your direction had you flailing to explain yourself. “It’s just that–I’m okay with it! Really! I understand him not really wanting to do that kind of thing.” 

“[Name], he wants to ‘do that kind of thing.’ Or at least he will, once he sees you in that get up.” He fingered one the straps on your shoulder. “I am _really_ good at picking these out, don’t you think?” 

You tried to ignore that. After all, he was dating Pepper. Still, it wasn’t much comfort to hear him talking about you like some sort of scientific project he’d succeeded with. 

“How do you know?” 

“In case you haven’t noticed, [Name]–and you’d be quite dense if you hadn’t and I might have to fire you–I _am_ a man. And even if I wasn’t, I know everything, so I would _still_ know what I’m talking about. So, what should you do?” 

You took a deep breath and gave him the answer he wanted, even if it wasn’t necessarily the answer you wanted to give. “Trust you.” 

“Trust me!” Tony looked you in the eyes until you gave him an uncertain nod. He nodded back, then shifted his focus to the elevator buttons. “And it looks like this…is your stop. Feel free to use the room up there, by the way. Pepper and I have other plans for the night.” 

“Wait, but!” He thought you actually wanted to go _through_ with this? The elevator pulled to a smooth and silent stop. Your heart nearly exploded in your chest as the doors opened in similarly soundless fashion. 

You did not step out. Instead, you turned back to Tony to whisper, “Are you sure this will be okay? Aren’t Thursdays reserved for you guys doing your science boyfriends thing?” 

“Already cleared it,” Tony hissed and made a shooing motion. “Now _go_.” Before you could protest again, your boss pushed you out the door. You tripped over the ridiculous heels he had put you in and only looked up in time to see him smirking and waving as the elevator doors slid shut. 

‘ _Great,_ ’ you thought as you pushed yourself to your feet. He’d probably programmed the elevator so it wouldn’t come back and get you until after a suitable amount of time had passed. You were so asking for a raise come Monday. 

“Hey. I thought you said you weren’t going to make it.” 

A voice drifted from the other side of the gleaming, silver-white laboratory that took up the entire floor. You sucked in a breath and slowly turned. There, with his back toward you, was a very familiar dark-haired scientist. He’d been expecting you? _That_ hadn’t been explained. 

“You said there was a romantic emergency, right?” he continued with his back still turned. “Did you straighten everything out with Pepper?” 

“Pepper?” you asked. 

Bruce stopped fiddling with whatever was on the table. There was split second of silence before he turned around. 

“Oh,” he said as he recognized that you were not, in fact, Tony Stark. Then his eyes widened. “ _Oh._ ” 

Not exactly the reaction Tony had been hoping for, you expected. Not to mention that it wasn’t much of a confidence booster. Rather than looking halfway interested in you, Bruce looked nervous. You tried to smile but could feel that the expression came out jittery. 

“Um, hey,” you finally managed to say. 

Bruce’s eyes shifted away, toward the blinking monitors above his work station, then back to you. He focused on your eyes– _only_ your eyes. 

“Hey,” he said at last. “What are you–I didn’t think I’d see you tonight.” 

“Y-Yeah. It’s science night, right? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” 

“No, no.” Bruce twiddled with one side of his glasses, then turned back to his work. “Tony put you up to this, didn’t he?” 

Your heart was fluttering like a hummingbird in your chest. You couldn’t remember feeling this embarrassed ever before. What was worse, you were embarrassing Bruce, too, something you knew he wouldn’t appreciate. When you spoke again, your throat tightened around your words. “How did you know?” 

Amazingly, he chuckled, though he still didn’t look at you. “He would pick that color.” 

“Oh.” 

Bruce poked at one of the holographic screens and continued in a would-be-casual tone, “To what do I owe the occasion?” 

“N-No occasion,” you stammered. You didn’t know what to think–was it good that he wasn’t looking at you so you wouldn’t have to go through with this? Or was it simply bad that he wasn’t looking at you? 

Several minutes passed as you watched him work, feeling yourself sweat in your ‘outfit,’ even though Tony kept the lab area very cool. Bruce didn’t say a single word. In fact, he seemed quite determined to ignore you entirely. 

“Bruce?” 

“Yes?” He turned his head halfway toward you, his eyes again roving around the windows and skittering away from you every time you came in range. Since this was doing neither of you any good, you decided to step forward. 

“Is something wrong?” 

“No,” he hastened to assure you, then went back to fiddling with the things on his table. “Nothing. I just didn’t expect–you should probably go to bed. It’s getting late. Tony won’t like it if you start showing up late to work. Even if he’s late 90 percent of the time.” 

“More than that. Besides, the elevator won’t come. You know he’ll have programmed it like that.” 

“Oh, well, you can just–” 

“You never touch me.” 

“What?” _That_ got Bruce’s attention. He looked straight at you, mouth slightly agape. “I–We touch.” 

“Holding my hand every other month doesn’t count.” 

Bruce opened his mouth, looked away, closed it again, and frowned. “I thought you understood. We can’t _do_ things like that. The Other Guy might not like it and then I’d do something we’d both regret.” 

In a forward act that surprised even you, you touched his arm. Bruce stiffened, but at least looked back at you. “We’ve been going out for nearly a year and a half. Can’t we at least _try_?” 

He shook his head. “I don’t think that would be advisable.” 

“Please?” you asked, standing on your toes and drawing closer to his face. “I trust you.” 

“It’s not a matter of _trust_ , [Name]. I love you. I’d rather not make any more of my loved ones run away–or die.” 

“I love you, too,” you said, choosing to ignore that last part. “It’s just that, sometimes, it would be nice to _show_ you instead saying it all the time.” 

“I–” 

“Hold still.” You weren’t sure why you said it. Maybe Tony had put some sort of science-y words nano-bots or chemicals in your clothing that were making you act like this. If so, you’d definitely be telling Pepper and he’d definitely be getting a lecture from her. For now, though, your words did the trick. Bruce held still. You held his gaze for a moment longer, then pressed your lips against his. 

He didn’t kiss back. As far as kisses went, it was a pretty disappointing one. Mostly Bruce just stood there, allowing you to hold your lips where they were until you broke away. Your eyes locked again. 

“Mr. Stark thinks you’re human. _I_ think you’re human. Sometimes you have to treat yourself like a human, too.” 

Bruce nodded, but still didn’t move much. Did you have to _tell_ him it was okay to do so again? You probably had as much experience in these matters as he did–less, according to Tony. After several more seconds passed like that, you sighed and took a step away. 

“I’m not saying we have to do anything drastic. I just–” You shifted uncomfortably and felt your blush return. Now that that was over, you were back to feeling out of place and awkward. “I love you. And I’d like to kiss you sometimes or…or even get kissed sometimes. But I know that’s not really in your comfort zone and all that.” 

“It could be,” he answered slowly, “in my comfort zone.” 

“Wh-What?” 

Bruce took a very deep breath, put his tool back onto the table, and stepped toward you. He looked as unsure of himself as you felt, but said: 

“Kiss me again.” 

“What?” you asked. 

“Kiss me again, [Name].” 

For some strange reason, this was more embarrassing than doing it without having been asked. Still, after having come right out and said you wanted a more physical relationship, you couldn’t exactly back out now. You stood on your toes and lightly pressed your lips against his. You expected more of the first kiss, but it took only half a second for Bruce to pull you closer to him. 

_This_ was better. Instead of standing there, his lips worked around you own. You let your eyes drift shut so that you could more properly enjoy the sensation of being so close to your boyfriend. Maybe Tony was right–maybe you _did_ need this. 

A little too quickly for your tastes, Bruce pulled away. Your eyes fluttered open to see him standing with his eyes closed. You held your breath, but he soon opened his eyes and flashed you a smile. 

“All clear?” you asked. He nodded. 

“At least for now, anyway.” 

“Great!” You beamed. “Well, it’s getting late, so I’ll let you go.” 

“Right. Good night, [Name].” 

You waved. “Good night, Bruce. Love you.” 

“Love you, too.” 

You smiled and blushed again but skipped back to the elevator. The down button lit up under your touch and, sure enough, the elevator arrived shortly. You stepped inside, already formulating plans to get in your normal pajamas as soon as you could. You hit the button for the floor the rest of the employees that stayed at the company lived and looked up to smile once more in Bruce’s direction. 

Only to see him already in the elevator _with_ you. The doors closed before either of you could spare another word. Unsure of what to say, you simply said nothing. Bruce broke the silence himself this time. 

“I haven’t done that with anyone since–since the Other Guy came along.” 

“Y-Yeah.” 

Bruce nodded, a little quickly. You were on the brink of asking him if he had changed his mind about that kiss being okay after all when he answered the question for you–by latching his lips onto yours. Surprised, it took you a moment to respond. By the time you had, his tongue was brushing gently at your bottom lip. 

You hesitated, but only for a brief moment before opening your mouth. Bruce’s tongue slipped inside as he took your hips and pulled you closer to him. You moaned quietly as it very softly probed your own. You focused on the feeling, smashing your hands into fists to keep yourself from pushing things farther than you should. You trusted Bruce and this at least _seemed_ like he trusted himself, but you didn’t want to force him anywhere he didn’t want to be. 

When he pulled away, you found yourself a bit breathless. You still managed to ask, “What are you doing?” 

Bruce looked you in the eyes as he brushed some hair from your face. The contact sent small shocks of heat through your body. 

“Treating myself like a human.” 

He leaned in and brushed his lips across your jawline. You bit your lip and curled your hands into themselves harder. 

“And you do look good in that getup. Even if that isn’t the color I would have picked.” 

Your chuckle came out as more of a squeak. This made Bruce look at your lips again. Without you even really noticing how it happened, you were kissing again, harder and faster than before. Bruce was pushing you up against the elevator wall, one hand resting on your hip. You squeaked again and this time his lips found your neck. 

“Br-Bruce!” 

“What?” he asked as he licked his lips. _He_ didn’t look out of breath, but you certainly felt it. “I thought you wanted to get kissed.” 

“I do,” you said. “But I don’t want you to feel like you _have_ to kiss me.” 

Bruce smiled. He lifted his hand to cup your face and brushed his thumb across your cheek. Then, he leaned in and whispered in your ear: 

“Sometimes, I want you to kiss me, too.” 

This time, you laughed. Bruce watched you for a moment, then laughed, too. Before he could finish, you kissed him again, and this time, you dug your fingers into his hair. He didn’t moan, but he did arrange his arms so that they kept you pinned to the glass. In response, you pressed your hips against his. That _did_ get something of a moan, if only a quiet one. Maybe Tony’s choice in attire hadn’t been as bad as you had thought. 

Neither of you noticed the elevator had reached its destination until the clapping began. Startled, you looked up, breaking the kiss. Bruce himself merely shifted away to get a better look. Sure enough, Tony was standing right outside, grinning like someone who had just won a Noble Prize. 

“Wonderful! Wonderful show! Good job, both of you.” You could feel yourself turning redder and redder. A quick glance in the elevator wall showed your hair was mussed up and your lingerie had been rumpled past the point of decency. Tony raised his eyebrows and pointed at Bruce. “ _You_ owe me dinner, thank you very much. You,” he pointed at you and frowned. “…You owe me dinner, too. Or at least a day of work where I don’t pay you.” 

“Tony–” Bruce began. 

“No.” Tony raised both his hands and began to walk toward the hall. “No need to thank me. You’re welcome.” 

With that, he was gone. Bruce sighed. 

“I’m sorry,” you offered. He sighed again but looked toward you with a smile. 

“Don’t be. We should have done that a long time ago. Now,” he stood up straight and stepped toward the doors. After peering out into the darkened hallway, he turned back to you and held out his hand, “should I walk you home?” 

“That would be wonderful,” you said, and took his hand.

* * *


End file.
